Hey stringmann - this may be similar to what Rusty sent you, but my other online RV home (RVforums.net) has a great library of camper DIY articles including one on "Buying a Used Motorhome". Here's a direct link to it.

Hey Scotty: That checklist is excellent. I think it could or should be posted somewhere here! And the rest of the site deserves many of the compliments of barthmobile! BTW, one of the reasons I seek this kind of advice is to find the one or two things I overlooked in my research. And the 'post drive' questions could have saved me serious $. I am sure no one else needs to hear 'feel the hubs for excessive brake heat' or something like that, but that alone would have clued me in that the sellers' and mechanics'(and they were kin; my bad) promises were not valid. I'm not beating myself up; our own Dave Bowers said his engine blew on his barth as he took it on its maiden voyage. He used to tell me to plan on an additional $10k in repair no matter what was promised.My trouble was that I then got double hosed by the mechanic. This time, I'm doing my research better. thanks again, jerry

Glad to help! Speaking of maiden voyage disasters, my engine didn't blow but our motorhome did become completely disabled our second night, less than 2 miles from where we bought it. We had to spend the night literally on the roadside with no A/C and no power whatsoever, 4 states away from home with no idea what was going to happen next or what we had just bought. Turns out it was a bad house battery that caused the alternator to fry an aftermarket ignition module and shut down the engine. Next morning it was all figured out, but boy did we feel like schmucks that night as the car roared by and my wife and I sweated off 10 pounds each!

True that money will need to be spent maintaining any used RV, but knowing what you are doing will reduce a LOT of those repair bills on small things. That where these forums are immeasurable IMHO, especially when the members will bend over backwards to help you out. That's true here and also at RVforum.net so read and post away!

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